Supraspinatus Tendonitis. Treatment, Management and Rehabilitation.

Supraspinatus tendonitis is a minor and relatively common problem . Supraspinatus is one of the rotator cuff muscles. The body of the muscle lies on the top part of the shoulder blade. It has a tendon that can easily get damaged as it runs between the ball and a shelf of bone above the socket of the shoulder joint.

This tendon helps to lift the arm up sideways away from the body. If the tendon is inflamed and swollen, as can happen if it gets compressed, then it gets repeatedly trapped by certain movements of the shoulder. This is not only painful but makes the condition worse by increasing the inflammation in the tendon.

Common tests for supraspinatus tendonitis:

* Pain on the tip of the shoulder to moderately deep touch pressure.

* Pain in the same place when the arm is moved out to the side. The pain classically occurs at about the seventy degree angle and disappears at about the one hundred and twenty degree angle. This is known as a painful arc. It occurs like this because only in certain positions i.e. between approximately seventy and one hundred and twenty degrees of this movement does the tendon get compressed by the boney structures surrounding it.

* Pain on the first part of the sideways movement away from the body, either with or without resistance.

Treatment of supraspinatus tendonitis

This essentially involves resolving the inflammation in the tendon. This is achieved by:

*Resting the joint so that the pain is not elicited. Non painful activities are fine but this advice must be applied strictly.

* Taking anti-inflamatory medication as prescribed by your doctor.

* A course of treatment by your physical therapist or physiotherapist using treatment modalities that help the body to overcome inflammatory processes, like electrotherapy or deep massage for example.

Resolution of the condition can take varying amounts of time depending on factors such as how old the injury is and the health of the tendon prior to the onset of the condition. My experience with this condition has been that it can be anything from one to twelve weeks from onset to full resolution.

Rehabilitation after supraspinatus tendonitis will involve light mobilising exercises to restore full and pain free movement of the shoulder joint. Normally there is little need for strengthening and functional rehabilitation following supraspinatus tendonitis. It is often more a case of ensuring the inflammation has resolved and checking that normal movement has been restored.

Care must be taken to avoid overly aggressive exercise which may re-aggravate the condition.

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